Trump lashes out at media over storm surrounding his foundation

Trump lashes out at media over storm surrounding his foundation·CNBC

President-elect Donald Trump has lashed out at the media, claiming journalists have not reported that he gave "millions of dollars" to the Donald J. Trump Foundation for charity purposes.

In a tweet sent out Monday night, Trump said: "I gave millions of dollars to the DJT Foundation, raised or received millions more, all of which is given to charity, and media won't report it."

Trump in a second tweet added that the foundation "unlike most foundations, never paid fees, rent, salaries or any expenses. 100 percent of money goes to wonderful charities."


Last week, Trump announced that he would dissolve the Donald J. Trump Foundation which has been recently been embroiled in an ongoing controversy over potential conflicts of interest.

But New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says Trump can't dissolve the foundation until his office completes its investigation into the organization. Schneiderman ordered the foundation to stop raising funds in October.

In a statement, Trump said the Donald J. Trump Foundation has done "enormous good works over the years in contributing millions of dollars to countless worthy groups, including supporting veterans, law enforcement officers and children."

However, the foundation has been part of a wide-ranging discussion about Trump's business and personal entanglements. A number of experts have shown concern over potential conflicts of interest with his new role as commander in chief.

Last month The Washington Post revealed that the Trump foundation had admitted to the Internal Revenue Service that it violated a legal prohibition against "self-dealing," which bars nonprofit leaders from using their charity's money to help themselves, their businesses or their families.

The Post further reported that the admission was contained in the Trump Foundation's IRS tax filings for 2015 which were recently posted online at the nonprofit-tracking site GuideStar. The Post has reported on several other instances where Trump appeared to use the foundation's money for his himself, such as the purchase of a $10,000 portrait that Trump bought with his charity's money.

Separately, Trump's son Eric also announced last week that he would terminate his own Eric J. Trump Foundation. Eric Trump faced criticism for an online auction sponsored by his foundation that offered the highest bidder a chance to have coffee with his sister Ivanka Trump.

According to a report in The New York Times, the bid reached a high of $72,888 and most of the bidders were people seeking to get close to the Trump family in order to influence policymaking.

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